Increasing demands for wireless data traffic, driven by widespread adoption of smart phones, tablets and other portable devices with their corresponding mobile applications, continues to strain the capacity limits of currently deployed wireless networks. As a result, wireless network operators are increasingly utilizing unlicensed (or more generally license-exempt) WiFi spectrum to cope with network congestion. This trend is expected to accelerate further as traffic demand continues to grow.
The use of unlicensed spectrum is a cost-effective means to add to the capacity of existing wireless networks, particularly given that there is limited availability for further licensed spectrum and also that radio spectrum remains quite expensive to license. There are several main sources of license-exempt spectrum that may be used for the purposes of offloading traffic to relieve congestion on licensed spectrum. One is the ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) radio bands, which were originally reserved internationally for the use of radiofrequency (RF) energy for industrial, scientific and medical purposes other than personal communications. In recent years these ISM bands have also been shared with license-free and error-tolerant communications applications such as wireless local area networks (WLANs) and cordless phones in the 915 MHz, 2.450 GHz, and 5.800 GHz bands. One such communication application on these ISM bands is ‘WiFi’. ‘WiFi’ is not a technical term, but the WiFi Alliance has generally enforced its use to describe only a narrow range of connectivity technologies including wireless WLANs based on the IEEE 802.11 set of technical standards which generally operate in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. For example, ISM band 2.4 GHz is used by WiFi with radio standards IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g/n, and ISM band 5 GHz with radio standards IEEE 802.11a/n/ac.
The E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunication System Radio Access, sometimes referred to as Long Term Evolution or LTE) system currently integrates WLAN as a separate access network to the 3GPP evolved packet core. This incurs the extra cost of deploying the complete WLAN access network alongside the E-UTRA network and also impacts the 3GPP core network entities. Existing WiFi offload solutions are based on this deployment model of distinct 3GPP and WLAN access networks using a common core with selective switching of flows based on operator/user policies. Other solutions are possible that result in a tighter integration and aggregation of 3GPP access network components with WLAN access networks without any impact to and reusing the same 3GPP core network elements.
The 3GPP has study items for investigating whether carrier aggregation principles can be used for aggregation/coordination of cells/carriers across WLANs; see for example documents RP-111094 by Intel Corporation entitled Discussion on Carrier Aggregation across LTE and WIFI and RP-111104 by Intel Corporation and Vodaphone entitled New Study Item Proposal for Radio Level Dynamic Flow Switching between 3GPP-LTE and WLAN [both from 3GPP TSG-RAN Meeting #53; Fukuoka, Japan; Sep. 13-16, 2012]. Proposal RP-121780 by Intel Corporation entitled New Study Item Proposal on WLAN/3GPP Radio Interworking [3GPP TSG-RAN Meeting & 58; Barcelona, Spain; Dec. 4-7, 2012] has been adopted by the 3GPP and among its objectives are to evaluate LTE-WLAN and UTRA-WLAN interworking procedures while improving seamless and non-seamless mobility. Further background of a general nature for WLAN procedures can be seen at IEE 802.11TM-2007 entitled WLAN MAC and PHY Specifications. 
Embodiments of the teachings set forth below further consider E-UTRA and WLAN interworking, but these are only specific examples of interworking among a wide area network and a local area network for which these teachings may be deployed.